High school students throughout the Greater Newark community showcased their custom-made glass art products at GlassRoots annual Business Plan Competition and Trade Fair last Wednesday, May 18, at Science Park High School. Newark students presented their products to a panel of judges and community members. Students created a wide variety of items including vases, centerpieces, jewelry, wind-chimes, candlestick holders and picture frames which were available for purchase.
“I am very proud of our students for the entrepreneurship and creativity they demonstrated at the GlassRoots Business Plan Competition and Trade Fair,” said Superintendent Christopher D. Cerf of Newark Public Schools (NPS). “The GlassRoots Business and Entrepreneurship Program is a valuable program that allows our children to express their creativity through art and learn the essential skills they need in order to become a successful leader in today’s society. The program continuously challenges our students to be innovative and creative thinkers; and to utilize skills they have developed in the classroom in a real world scenario.”
The Business Plan Competition and Trade Fair marked the end of a year-long after school program that Newark students participated in, known as the GlassRoots Business and Entrepreneurship Program. The local program is modeled from the curriculum of the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, an international non-profit organization that focuses on providing children around the world with important information about starting a business. Over the course of the academic year, program participants learned the vital steps that are needed to create, manage and maintain a business by receiving 30 hours of direct instruction. Additionally, students received 40 hours of instruction on glassmaking techniques in a GlassRoots art studio, where they created their own business products.
GlassRoots is a Newark non-profit organization that was founded in 2001. The initial mission of GlassRoots was to ensure that youth throughout the City of Newark were able to reach their potential by displaying their gift of creative self-expression. Over the course of the organization’s first 15 years in existence, its mission has transformed, now focusing on ensuring that all members of the Newark community have the opportunity to express their creativity through the arts.
